Accidently In Love: Rose and Scorpius
by LuckyNumbers
Summary: I never meant to fall in love with the boy that my father told me to stay away from. It just... happened
1. Chapter 1

Fifth Year Ravenclaw Keeper Rose Weasley sat outside by the Black Lake under the same tree she was by nearly every fair weathe

_"Don't get _too _friendly with him, Rosie. Grandad Weasley would never forgive you if you married a pureblood."_

Those were the last words that my father had said to me before I got on the Hogwarts Express for the first time. I didn't get the chance to get acquainted with him, though, so it was ok. My mother said that I was a natural born rule-breaker, and that it came from her and Dad. I guess I didn't really believe that. That is, not until my cousin Albus and I broke our family's tradition and got into houses other than Gryffindor. I was sorted into Ravenclaw, and Albus was a Slytherin.

Now, Albus became friends with a lot of people from that house. Dad said that they used to be a lot worse, but I guess they got nicer during the years following Voldemort's downfall. Well, anyway, since I was best friends with my cousin, it was inevitable that he would have to hand out with some of my other friends and vise versa. I didn't think that it would bode well for me that he seemed to be best friends with Scorpius Malfoy, the one boy that Dad had told me to avoid. Needless to say, Uncle Harry wasn't too sore about it, but _my_ father on the other hand wanted me to have nothing to do with him. My uncle finally convinced my dad that Scorpius wasn't an exact replica of his father and to lighten up. Aunt Ginny told me that dad had always been really protective and then went into a story about a guy named Dean.

So, that was how Scorpius and I became okay friends. I mean, we weren't _that_ close, but he was one of those guys who was kind of always there when you just wanted someone to talk to.

We both weren't that into the relationship scene. He dated a bunch of girls at a time, and I just couldn't seem to find a good guy. The longest I went out with someone was about two months with a Hufflepuff in my year named Jacob Thomas. I liked him, but he seemed to like me a bit too much. He got really clingy and didn't even like me talking to other guys. That was why I had to break it off with him. And even after that, he was still hung up on me. It took him one month and a really good bat-bogey hex to tell him that I simply wasn't interested anymore, and I think that he got the picture, but every now and then, he tries again.

So there I was, in Hogsmeade on Halloween Day. The Halloween night Masque was to be held in the Great Hall that night. After purchasing my costume which I was determined to keep a secret, I went into The Three Broomsticks and ordered a Butterbeer and a sandwich.

"Uh, hi," someone said to me. I looked up. It was him again. Jacob. "I, uh, I heard that you didn't have a date yet, and I was wondering if you would settle for going with me." At that point, he produced a rather large box of chocolate.

I looked down and, smiling, I shook my head. It was typical Jacob behavior. "Jake," I started. "I know that we went out last year for a little while, but I just don't like you like that anymore. You know that. Please, for your own dignity, stop trying. There are tons of girls just waiting to go out with you, but I'm not one of them."

Jacob nodded sullenly. "I know," he said. He sighed. "See you later, then?" he asked.

"Ok, I guess," I said. I hated making him feel stupid like that. I still wanted to be friends with him, but I didn't want to be his girlfriend again. It wasn't much fun for me.

"What was that all about?" someone behind me asked.

I turned around. Scorpius was standing there with an amused look on his face.

"Can I sit here?" he asked, motioning toward the other chair.

"Sure," I said. He sat down. "That was just Jacob trying to get me to go out with him again. I don't see why he tries so hard. It just gets him nowhere. A lot of girls want to be his girlfriend right now, but he's still hung up on me. Help, please."

"I'm not so good at the advice. May I interest you in a sarcastic comment?" we both laughed. "How much have you tried?"

"Remember how he suffered that really bad Bat-Bogey hex at the end of last year?" I asked. He nodded. "Guilty."

"Ah," Scorpius said. "I see. Well, he'll come around. So, was he asking you on any specific date, or was it just general?"

"Apparently, someone let it slip to him that I was still available to go to the dance with someone," I said. "Apparently, no one stopped to think that I might possibly prefer to go alone."

"Do you?" he asked me.

"Not really," I said. "But I don't think I'll go with someone. I just don't feel like dating at the moment. So, are you going to take one of your various and sundry girls to the ball?" Scorpius shook his head. "Really? Well, that doesn't make much sense. Aren't you dating a different girl every week?"

"That is a common misconception," he said. "I haven't dated for about two weeks now."

I fake applauded him. I raised my glass in a mock toast. "To being single," I said.

"Cheers," he said, tapping his glass to mine.

We smiled. I was lucky to have a friend like him.


	2. Chapter 2

Fifth Year Ravenclaw Keeper Rose Weasley sat outside by the Black Lake under the same tree she was by nearly every fair weathe

"So," Scorpius said as we were walking through Hogsmeade. "What are you going to be dressed as for the ball tonight?"

"Oh no," I shook my head. "I'm not telling anyone, including you. Do you know how hard it's been too keep the secret from my friends? I don't want anyone to know. I'll be a complete stranger to anyone and everyone, so unless you can learn legilimency by tonight, you won't find out."

"Hmm, that is a problem," Scorpius said, pretending to think it over a lot.

"What about you?" I asked. "Who are you going to be?"

"No way," Scorpius said. "This is a two-way street. If you're not going to tell me, then I'm not going to tell you."

I stuck my tongue out at him and he did the same thing at me. We both burst out laughing two seconds later.

"We are so immature," he said.

"Hey, speak for yourself, Mr. I-Still believe-that-there-are-pretty-mermaids," she said. "And yes, I just like to push your buttons. Ok, I see your point. Anyway, changing the subject, did you see how close Al and Lindsay Smith have been getting? I can just hear the groans of all the girls who wish they were the girlfriend my incredibly gorgeous cousin."

"Yes," Scorpius said. "Jonathon Corner and I have been teasing him a lot. Course, we don't get to see him that often. He's always snogging her in one of those secret places of his." Scorpius shook his head. "The map really plays into his hands like that, I swear."

"Yes, well, Uncle Harry gave it to him," I said. "James was a bit cut up about it. Apparently, he thought that he should have gotten it, since he's the oldest and all, but seriously, I think that he was just being a little arrogant. Oh well. My family is just a bunch of misfit rule breakers."

"As are you," he agreed, "you devious, smart-alecy little Ravenclaw."

"Yes, well maybe I like being different. I'm not my father or my mother," I said. "And therefore I can be whoever I want."

"Here, here," said Scorpius. "Being different is better than being like everyone else. Why be the same when you can stand out, hm?"

"Yes," I said. "But you stand out because of your good looks. I, on the other hand-"

"You stand out because of your good looks," Scorpius said.

"How hard did you hit your head at that Quidditch match the other day?" I asked in a tone that questioned his sanity.

"Oh, come on, Rose," Scorpius said. "Jacob Thomas isn't the only boy vying for your attention. I've noticed it since third year. Did you honestly not know?"

"Ok, I'm taking you to Madame Pomfrey to get that head of yours checked out," I said, walking ahead of him.

"Besides Jacob, who have you dated?" Scorpius asked.

"Jason Roxburh, Danny Hill, Barnabus Jameson," I started listing. "Ok, I see what you mean. But why would anyone like me for the way I look? I'm so… plain!"

"Rose, as a friend, I feel that I have a right to tell you this," he said. "You are a lot of things; smart, funny and very talented, but you are never ever plain. I haven't met a more unique girl in my life. Now you go to that dance tonight and dance with any and every guy that you seem to like, ok?"

"Ok," I said meekly. "OK!"

"That's the Rose I know," he smiled.

Just then, with the sun setting behind him, I had the oddest thought. _Merlin, he's cute._ Not that I didn't know that he was good looking. I had just brought that up. I quickly shook my head. Scorpius was my friend. _I have no feelings for him except for those of a friend. Besides, he doesn't like me that way. I mean, even though he just said that I was pretty and smart and funny and…… NO! Stop thinking like that, Rosie. It's not right. You just had a little too much sugar today. That's it. Now you march your butt right back to the common room this instant._

Ok, so I'm a little strict with myself inside my head.


	3. Chapter 3

Fifth Year Ravenclaw Keeper Rose Weasley sat outside by the Black Lake under the same tree she was by nearly every fair weathe

**Disclaimer: Wow, it's the third chapter, and I haven't even put in a disclaimer yet. Well, I don't own anything except for the plot and the random characters that JK Rowling never assigned, ok? I also don't own The Counting Crows or their songs.**

I looked at my watch as the last girl left the seventh year girl's dorm. I was free to get dressed.

I had planned it so that I wouldn't actually get into my outfit nor do my hair's color until everyone left. No one was going to see my outfit until I got into the Great Hall for the ball, and even then, I was banking on not being recognized. If someone figured out who I was, so be it.

The first thing I did was put the hair dye that I made for extra credit in Potions in my hair. It was sky blue, just like the rest of my outfit. The costume consisted of a harlequin mask and a ball gown. Add an aquamarine necklace, earrings to match, and blue makeup, don't forget the blue shoes, of course, and you had me, dressed as a sky goddess. I wasn't quite sure what inspired it. I guess it was a subconscious thought from that lesson in History of Magic with the Greek Mythology or something like that. Did the Greeks even have a Sky Goddess? Whatever, I digress.

So, it took me a little while after everyone left to put my dress on. It would have taken a shorter time if I didn't accidentally throw my wand throw my wand in a place where a pile of clothes were placed. Didn't really think that through, did I?

Anyway, I finally dug out my wand and finally got the back of my all tied and zipped up, I put my shoes, and I walked out of the dorm.

Let me tell you, in high heels, it is _very_ hard to get to from Ravenclaw tower to the Great Hall.

The party was in full swing by the time that she got there. Mostly I kept to the back. No one seemed to recognize me, so was that good or bad?

SI sat down at a table. Eventually, a boy in a white mask and suit sat down next to me.

"Who are you supposed to be?" he asked.

"A sky goddess," I said.

"It's very pretty," he complimented me.

"Thank you," I said. "And are you the Phantom of the Opera?"

"If you want to think that," he said.

"So, you're just a guy in a white mask," I said.

"Pretty much," he nodded. I laughed.

We sat there. It felt like I knew him, I just couldn't tell where from.

"Hey, uh, you wanna dance?" he asked me.

"Ok," I said.

At that moment, some muggle song came on.

_So she said what's the problem baby  
What's the problem I don't know  
Well maybe I'm in love (love)  
Think about it every time  
I think about it  
Can't stop thinking 'bout it_

How much longer will it take to cure this  
Just to cure it cause I can't ignore it if it's love (love)  
Makes me wanna turn around and face me but I don't know nothing 'bout love

Come on, come on  
Turn a little faster  
Come on, come on  
The world will follow after  
Come on, come on  
Cause everybody's after love

So I said I'm a snowball running  
Running down into the spring that's coming all this love  
Melting under blue skies  
Belting out sunlight  
Shimmering love

Well baby I surrender  
To the strawberry ice cream  
Never ever end of all this love  
Well I didn't mean to do it  
But there's no escaping your love

These lines of lightning  
Mean we're never alone,  
Never alone, no, no

Come on, Come on  
Move a little closer  
Come on, Come on  
I want to hear you whisper  
Come on, Come on  
Settle down inside my love

Come on, come on  
Jump a little higher  
Come on, come on  
If you feel a little lighter  
Come on, come on  
We were once  
Upon a time in love

We're accidentally in love  
Accidentally in love _x7___

Accidentally

I'm In Love, I'm in Love,  
I'm in Love, I'm in Love,  
I'm in Love, I'm in Love,  
Accidentally _x2___

Come on, come on  
Spin a little tighter  
Come on, come on  
And the world's a little brighter  
Come on, come on  
Just get yourself inside her

Love ...I'm in love

"Interesting song," he said. When it was over, we went for a walk outside.

"Yep," I agreed. I was shivering from the cold.

"You know, when we were dancing, I felt this weird connection between us."

"Yeah, me too," I said. "Weird."

He nodded and then looked at me. "You're lips are blue," he laughed. "They match your outfit. Here, let me warm them up for you."

He leaned in and kissed me. It felt so… right. Still, I needed to know one thing. "This is a little awkward if we don't even know each other's names."

"Ok," he said, smiling. "I'll go first. Hi, I'm Scorpius Malfoy."

_NO!_

I ran off.

I could hear his feeble, "Wait up!" behind me, but I just kept running. I didn't stop running until I got back to the door.


	4. Chapter 4

Fifth Year Ravenclaw Keeper Rose Weasley sat outside by the Black Lake under the same tree she was by nearly every fair weathe

**Disclaimer: If I owned the Harry Potter series, I'd be too awesome to write fanfictions of it, don't you think? I'm also not one of the Brothers Grimm.**

I washed all of the make-up off of my face, and I changed into my pajamas. The hair dye would fade and wear out within a few hours, so I just put it into a ponytail and sat on my bed, perusing my much-abused copy of Hogwarts: A History.

Unfortunately, every page turn said "Scorpius…Scorpius…Scorpius…" I didn't even think that the sound of pages turning could sound out multi-syllable names.

Why Scorpius? Why him? He was just a friend; someone who I could always talk to. He was nothing more than that. He kissed me, and he didn't know that it was me. But that wasn't the worst part. No, that definitely wasn't the worst part.

I kissed him back. I. Kissed. Him.

In my defense, I didn't really know it was him, I just thought that I had heard his voice before. But, in the back of my mind, didn't I really know? I kissed him voluntarily. A part of my mind _wanted_ to kiss him.

Ok, calm down, Rose. Maybe it was just my rebellious side acting up. Yes, that had to be it. I wanted to do something that would make my father angry.

But why would I want to do that? That wasn't what I usually do. Usually, to anger my dad, I just correct his sentence structure or something like that. I _don't_ kiss the sons of his old school enemies.

My life seemed to be in shambles.

It was only then that I saw the sun streaming through the window, other girls asleep in their beds and the blue in my hair faded away that I realized that I had fallen asleep.

That meant that I was obsessing in my sleep… again. That usually happened before a big test or something. Well, it seemed like there was going to be a life-lesson test in my near future, so that was probably the exact same thing.

There was only one thing to do: Face whatever may come in the day.

A Few Hours Later

I had basically managed to avoid talking to or sitting with Scorpius throughout the day, but the inevitable was bound to happen. Just like he was someone to talk to through all of my problems if I needed a friend, I was like that for him. I just didn't know when he was going to try and bring up the topic of the mysterious blue-haired girl.

The answer: during free period.

As I always am at that time, I was sitting by my favorite, old tree, the one that basically had a school couple's legacy.

James

Lily

George and Angelina 4ever

3

Teddy and Victoire

3

It was only now that I was trying to avoid someone I kissed that I was starting to resent that tree.

The only reason of that was because Scorpius knew that I sat in the same place everyday, and not far into the period did he come up to me.

"Hey Rose, I got a question," Scorpius said.

"Have," I corrected him.

"Huh?" he asked.

"You don't _got_ a question, you _have_ a question," I said, hoping that he would go ask someone else. But he knew this as my normal behavior.

"Ok, I _have_ a question," he said. "You see, last night, I was dancing with this really amazing girl, and we ended up kissing. Trouble is, after that, she ran off."

"You know, you really shouldn't kiss a girl without her permission, Scorp," I said to him.

"No, I'm pretty sure she kissed me back," he said. Great, he noticed it, too.

"Ok," I said. "Did you say anything to offend her?"

"All I said was my name, and then she ran away," he said.

"Well, that might be a little weird for her, considering your family's history," I said.

"Hey, don't bring my family into this," he said, getting a bit defensive. "Everyone knows that the only similarity I have with any of them is the fact that I'm in Slytherin."

"Ok, calm down, Scorp. No need to get angry at me. I was just pointing it out," I said. "Let's think about looks. How was she dressed?"

"She was all blue from head to toe," he said. "Even her hair was blue. The only thing that was different was her eyes, which were the only facial feature I could see because she was wearing some blue harlequin mask."

"Well, eyes can be a very defining part of someone's features," I said. "What color were they."

"They were this deep, chocolate brown," he said. He paused for a moment and looked at me. "They were kind of like yours, in fact." He laughed. "Hey Rose, are you the blue haired girl."

"Sure, mystery girl at your service," I said, laughing along. I was telling the truth, but he didn't know that, so it was safe. "Is it possible that you just dreamed her up, though?"

"No way," he said. "She's real, I'm sure of that."

"Well," I said. "Looks like you've got a real Cinderella story out there, but with no glass slipper."

He looked at me strangely.

"It's one of the muggle stories that Mum used to read to me when I was young," I said.

"Ah," he said. "Well, that sounds interesting. How does it go?"

"Scorpius, I really don't think you'd be interested in it," I said.

"Come on," he said.

"Alright," I said. "Once upon a time, there was a girl who loved her father very much…"


	5. Chapter 5

Fifth Year Ravenclaw Keeper Rose Weasley sat outside by the Black Lake under the same tree she was by nearly every fair weathe

**Disclaimer: Just for those who didn't know, I do not own anything but the plot. Yay for JK Rowling! And I have no idea what that line is at the top. Just disregard it.**

A week passed. Everyday, I told myself, _I'm going to tell him today, I'm going to tell him today._ But I didn't, and he kept searching. Todays turned into tomorrows and I didn't tell him.

It was once again a Hogsmeade weekend, and this time my mind was made up. I would tell him. My mask was in my bag, just in case I needed to prove anything.

There he was in the Three Broomsticks, just like I thought he would be. My head told me to run and my heart told my head to shut the hell up.

It was now or never.

"Hey… Scorp?" I said.

"Oh, hey Rose," he greeted me. "I'm sorry we didn't get a lot of time to talk. I guess I've been obsessing about this thing."

"Tell me about it," I muttered. "Can we, uh, go for a walk or something? I need to talk to talk to you."

"Uh, ok," he said. "I need to take my mind off of this girl thing anyway."

"Oh, uh, sure," I agreed. _Now probably won't be good, but it's the only way… Great, just great._

We walked to the gate that separated the town from the acre of land that technically was the beginning of the Shrieking Shack's property. People said that it was the shack's property because most people were afraid of it.

"Scorpius, I know who the girl is," I said.

"Really?" he asked. "That's terrific!"

"No, it's not," I protested.

"Why isn't it?" he asked me. "Is there something wrong with her? Does she already have a boyfriend? Please don't tell me that she already has a boyfriend."

"No, she doesn't have a boyfriend," I assured him.

"Then what's wrong?" he asked. I took a deep breath. "Rose, are you ok?" he asked me.

"No, Scorpius, I'm not," I told him.

"Why not?" he asked me.

"Because it's me," I told him.

"What's you?" he asked. "I don't understand."

"It's me," I repeated. "She's me. I'm the girl."

"You're joking, Rose," he smiled. He then looked at my serious face. "You're not joking, Rose."

I shook my head. Tears began to sting my eyes. "I'm afraid not. I'm your Cinderella," I said, taking the mask out of the bag and putting it on my face, "and this is my glass slipper." Immediately, his face grew hard and cold. I took off the mask. "You're angry."

"Of course I am," he said. He sat down on one of the rocks and put his head in his palm. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't know. I was scared. I didn't want to know the truth," I told him. The words came out in the rush.

"But _I_ did," he said. "I thought we were friends."

"I know," I said, beginning to cry. "I'm sorry and-"

"Sorry doesn't cut it, Rose!" He shouted. "I thought that we were supposed to be friends. You lied to me. How can I trust you?"

"You can't," I said. "I know you can't trust me right now."

"Right now?" he asked. "Rose, I don't know if I'll be able to trust you ever again."

"I know," I said. "And I would understand if you didn't wasn't to speak with me ever again, too."

"I don't know about that," he said, "but I sure as hell can't speak to you right now."

And with that, he got up. I sank to my knees and cried.

I wasn't Cinderella.

There was no fairy godmother coming to make things right.

I shouldn't have brought it up.


	6. Chapter 6

Fifth Year Ravenclaw Keeper Rose Weasley sat outside by the Black Lake under the same tree she was by nearly every fair weathe

**Disclaimer: Here's a hint: I'm a teenaged girl living in the USA. Does that sound like JK Rowling to you? I'm sorry, ****Kiley 1 09, but in this fic, things have to get worse before they get better.**

I ended that horrific day avoiding nearly everyone and the awkward question, "Why are you crying?"

I even stayed away from the one person that I trusted beyond belief; Albus, my own cousin and best friend. So, if you doubted that I was in a bad situation, there's the proof for you. I _never_ avoid Albus.

My dreams were filled with hectic visions of Scorpius. There was us kissing at the ball, a few hours before that when I saw the sun setting behind him, and a few other times that I thought he looked absolutely perfect.

The last part of the dream, though, was not so perfect. It was his face, twisted in anger as he spat those words at me. I awoke with my pillow drenched and my eyes stinging from crying so much.

Why did things like this happen to me? It wasn't right. Maybe I was just a magnet for things that didn't work well, like dating Jacob and deciding to take Divination my fifth year instead of taking Arithmancy like I had planned in the first place.

This would pass. It had to, right? I didn't _really_ like Scorpius, after all. It was probably just me feeling sorry for myself that it was seventh year and I still didn't have a boyfriend.

Yes, that was probably it.

But what if that _wasn't_ really the case? What if I actually liked him?

What if I _loved_ him?

_Merlin's pants!_ My thoughts exploded in my head. _I love him! That's why I've been feeling like this! I _love _Scorpius! Oh no, what happens now? I mean, it's not like I can say, "Hey Scorpius, guess what? I'm in love with you." That can't happen, especially not after what happened in Hogsmeade!_

My thoughts were such a mess that I had barely realized that I had gotten dressed and was heading out the door of the common room. That's what usually happened when I was obsessing.

Before I even got into the Great Hall, I knew that I would be facing possibly the hardest day of my natural life. That is, if I got to live that long.

When I sat down at the Ravenclaw table, I could already feel someone staring at me.

I turned around. It was Albus. He threw me a questioning glance.

"I'll explain everything later," I mouthed to him. "Give me time."

"You'd better," he mouthed back.

Since we grew up together, we were very good and reading each other's lips. It was almost as natural as having a conversation aloud.

I didn't dare look at who was sitting directly next to him.

I'll give you three guesses as to who it was.

If you said Scorpius Malfoy, then you'd be correct. Sorry, no prizes.

I immediately looked down at my plate. I couldn't wait until breakfast was over, even if it meant I had to sit through Slughorn's lectures in double potions as soon as the first classes of the day started. People always say that he should retire, but then he says that he already did that once and was repaying a debt of some sort now.

I sat in the back, next to some Hufflepuff girl who I barely knew. It was easier to sit next to people who didn't know me, because then I wouldn't get the third degree about my current attitude, and trust me, that was best, considering the way I was at the moment.

I managed to get through the classes I had before lunch without having to talk to anyonw who would notice something, but I still wanted to talk to someone.

That's when I thought of Professor McGonagall. Well, it was actually Headmistress McGonagall, but that was beside the point.

She actually did help me with a lot before, but not to the extent of Uncle Harry and the Headmaster that he had.

I went to the falcon statue that guarded the staircase.

"Lioness," I said, and the statue jumped aside. I walked up the spiral staircase and knocked on the door.

"Come in, Miss Weasley," said the woman's voice from inside.

I opened the door. To someone who didn't know her, she was an ageing, severe, strict woman. To those who did, she was all of those things, but she was also willing to listen to her student's problems.

"Professor McGonagall," I said. "What would you do if a friend got really mad at you over something that you did, even though you may have done it to protect their feelings?"

"I'm guessing that this friend to whom you are referring to is Mister Malfoy?" she asked.

"How did you know?" I asked.

"I find that it gets easier to guess what my students are talking about the longer I have been in charge of this school," she said. "But what I would do in this situation would simply talk to him about it."

"But he won't listen to me," I protested.

"Then you must make him listen, mustn't you?" she said.

"I- I guess," I said. "Thank you."

"Good day, Miss Weasley," she said as I left her office.

_Ok,_ I thought. _I'll make him listen._

After asking around, I found out that he was in the library. That was just fine for me.

As I was looking for Scorpius, I picked up a few books that looked interesting. Ok, so I was even a bookworm in situations like these.

I finally found him in a row at the back.

There was a Slytherin girl about our age wrapped around him and they were snogging each others brains out!

I dropped all the books I was carrying and stood there open mouthed for a second as they both noticed my presence.

I ran. Tears blurred my vision, and eventually, I couldn't find my way out. I curled up by a row of books and cried.

"Rose!" I heard _him_ calling my name, but I didn't bother to answer.


	7. Chapter 7

Fifth Year Ravenclaw Keeper Rose Weasley sat outside by the Black Lake under the same tree she was by nearly every fair weathe

**Disclaimer: If any of you think that I'm JK Rowling, you should probably go to St. Mungo's and get your head checked out. I don't own Rent, either. The song seemed appropriate.**

This time _I _didn't want to speak to _him._ Had I _honestly _been stupid enough to think that I could actually be in love with that… idiot?

These were the thoughts running through my head when he finally found me crying.

"Merlin, Rose, I'm so sorry!" he said. It was a feeble attempt of him trying to apologize for what had just happened. "You were _never_ supposed to see that."

The tears stopped. I glared at him. I was crying over _this_ boy? Not possible.

"Hey, you hurt me first," he said. So he was going to play that game with me?

"That is _so_ not the same as not telling you what had happened!" I exclaimed, standing up. "I didn't tell you because I didn't want our friendship to be hurt. You just went off snogging some random girl. Don't even _try_ to say that this is similar in any way." I began to walk away from him.

"Rose, please listen to me!" he said, grabbing onto my left hand.

"Let me go, Scorpius," I said to him. "I have nothing more to say to you."

"But I have something to say to you," he said. He leaned in as if to kiss me.

I immediately took out my wand and pointed it at him. He dropped my hand. "Don't you _dare_ try," I said. "I'm not just some girl who you can just mess around with." I turned around and began to walk away.

"Rose-"

"Get out of my sight, Malfoy," I said my voice full of acid.

_MIMI  
Without you, the ground thaws, the rain falls, the grass grows.  
Without you, the seeds root, the flowers bloom, the children play.  
The stars gleam, the poets dream, the eagles fly, without you.  
The earth turns, the sun burns, but I die, without you._

Without you, the stars roar the breeze warms, the girl smiles, the cloud moves.  
Without you, the tides change, the boys run, the oceans crash.  
The crowds roar, the days soar, the babies cry, without you.  
The moon glows, the river flows, but I die, without you.

ROGER  
The world revives—

MIMI  
Colors renew—

BOTH  
But I know blue, only blue, lonely blue, within me blue.

MIMI  
Without you.  
Without you, the hand gropes, the ear hears, the pulse beats.

ROGER  
Without you, the eyes gaze, the legs walk, the lungs breathe.

ROGER  
The mind churns!

MIMI  
The mind churns!

ROGER  
The heart yearns!

MIMI  
The heart yearns!

BOTH  
The tears dry, without you.  
Life goes on, but I'm gone.  
Cause I die, without you.

MIMI  
Without you.

ROGER  
Without you.

BOTH  
Without you.

A day turned into a week. Weeks turned into one month, and we still didn't talk to each other. Actually, he tried to talk to me, but I always turned him away. What reason would there be if it only made things worse?

He wasn't avoiding me anymore. It was now him who was sorry. I couldn't care less about him anymore. I convinced myself that any feeling I thought I had were completely false. My head was the only logical thing I should follow. Why follow your heart when it would only make things worse.

My friends noticed my dour attitude as well. Every time they asked, I would say it was the workload this year, I was tired, and I was stressed about the NEWTs. They learned not to ask.


	8. Chapter 8

Fifth Year Ravenclaw Keeper Rose Weasley sat outside by the Black Lake under the same tree she was by nearly every fair weathe

**Disclaimer: Blah blah blah, don't own anything, blah blah blah. Wow, I'm a writing machine.**

By early December, I was numb. Days passed by, and I barely noticed. I wasn't so bad as to not talk to my friends, but everything became a routine to me. They seemed to be talking about the same thing every day anyway; boys. It was a subject that I had suddenly become quite disinterested in, so they barely asked me my opinion.

Albus was a bit sore about me not explaining the sudden coolness between Scorpius, but he was just as mad at him for that. He didn't like not knowing what was going on with his two best friends.

He caught up with me one day after potions.

"Rose, what is going on?" he asked me.

"What, with the lesson?" I asked, trying to be naïve. "Well, it's simple, really. To make it work to its full potential, you need to add in two drops of dragon's blood and-"

"That's not what I was talking about," he said. "I mean, what is going on with you and Scorpius. You've barely looked at each other, let alone spoken to each other in the past month. What happened? I thought he was your go-to-guy for problems."

"Isn't it natural to fall in and out of communication with friends?" I asked, hoping that he would take that bait.

"Rose, you two have been friends since the third year, something is going on here," he insisted. "Did he do something wrong? If he did, he didn't mean it."

"Why don't you just talk to him if you're going to defend him," I snapped.

"Ok, now I _know_ something's wrong," he said.

"Sorry Al," I apologized. "I just lost control of my temper, I guess."

"Either way, I want to know what happened," he said.

"It's not easy to explain," I told him. "Even if I told you, you wouldn't understand. You'd jump to the wrong conclusion and then act on it. Don't think I don't know what I'm talking about, either. If you weren't my cousin, you'd be my brother. I know how you work."

"Fine," he said, throwing his hands up in defeat. "But once this gets worked out, you will tell me every detail."

"_If_ it works out," I said, emphasizing the 'if', "then you will be the first to know exactly what happened."

"Hey, we should hand out at Hogsmeade tomorrow," he said. "It'll be just you and me, just like we used to. How does that sound?"

I smiled and nodded, though a little confused. I hadn't realized that it was Friday already because of the way I'd been living.

I'd realized that in all of the drama and confusion that Scoprius put me through, I forgot my stand-by: When in doubt, go to Al.

The realization came with a little pain when it dawned on me that I had been neglecting one of the only people who actually understood me and how I viewed my family, since we were both quite different from the rest of them.

In all honesty, I have no idea why I didn't tell him about my situation. He would probably understand, but a part of my brain thought that it would be just as bad as telling my brother, Hugo, who, at sixteen, still told secrets as easily as a seven year-old who was offered a piece of candy as a reward for telling on people.

I no longer sat out by my regular tree by the lake anymore. It hurt a bit too much to look at. My location was changed to a rock that was far enough away from where anyone liked to go sit by anyway. Most people like to be closer to the castle, and the ones who don't care are usually by their friends who prefer to be closer to the castle.

The rest of the day went by as usual. I went to class, avoided Scorpius, walked to another class, avoided Scorpius, went to dinner, avoided Scorpius again, and I finally went up to Ravenclaw tower while avoiding Scorpius.

Yes, ever since the incident, my schedule pretty much consisted of mostly avoiding Scorpius. Trust me; it made a lot more sense when I came up with it.

I woke up the next morning and I was quite looking forward to just hanging out with my cousin. There was to be no, I repeat _no_ thinking about Scorpius at all.

When I got to the entrance, Al was already there. "So, ready for some fun?" he asked.

"Sure," I said. "How about we go to Madame Puddifoot's?"

"Madame Puddifoot's?" he asked me. "I always thought that you preferred the Three Broomsticks."

"Well, you thought wrong, didn't you?" I asked.

"I think that we should go to the Three Broomsticks," he said.

"Why?" I asked him. Why was he trying to press this issue?

"I just like it better, that's all," he said.

"Al, you barely ever go to the Three Broomsticks," I said. "You like the Hog's Head, because no one ever questions you when you buy Firewhiskey."

"Let's just go," he said, grabbing my arm. He sat me down in a booth. "Wait here." He then left the pub. O…kay.


	9. Chapter 9

Fifth Year Ravenclaw Keeper Rose Weasley sat outside by the Black Lake under the same tree she was by nearly every fair weathe

**Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling. I am not a famous writer. I am just a girl with too much imagination. ****QuickQuotesQuill07****, I like the way you think.**

So there I sat. I ordered a butterbeer from Madame Rosemerta and stayed there. What could Albus possibly be doing?

I was lucky that I had taken a book with me, and I began to read. I had no idea how much time had passed before someone walked up to me. I was able to see him above the book, so I put it down.

He looked about my age, and I instantly recognized him. He was that new transfer student from America. He was in Hufflepuff. My friends were talking about him a lot, calling him things like "incredibly gorgeous" and "snog-worthy."

I had never actually seen him before, but it was needless to say, they were right. He had dark hair and green eyes. They weren't as brilliant as Albus's, though. What was his name again? James? Joseph?

"Can I sit here?" he asked me? He threw a brilliant smile in my way.

It took me a moment to realize that he was talking to me. "S-sure," I said. He said. "I'm Rose Weasley." I stuck out my hand to him.

"Josh," he said, taking my hand and kissing it. My ears grew hot and red. "Josh Steward."

"You're new, right?" I asked, trying to sound nonchalant. I was failing miserably. Really, it was obvious because of his accent.

"Yeah," he said, "my dad got offered a job at the ministry, and it paid better than the government job he held in the US, so we moved. Mom was a healer, so she's at St. Mungo's now."

"Wow," I said. "My mum's working in the ministry, too!"

"Really?" he asked, seeming genuinely interested. "What department is she in?"

"Magical Law Enforcement," I said.

"Same as my dad!" he exclaimed. "What a coincidence!"

I smiled and he smiled back. We began to talk. He was really interesting and funny, too. I looked down at my watch again. I had been doing this periodically. Albus said that he'd "be right back" over an hour ago.

"Are you ok?" he asked me.

"What?"

"Well, that has to be the third time that you've checked what time it is in the last ten minutes," he said.

"Oh," he'd noticed. "Well, I was sort of waiting for my cousin. He said he'd be back, but that was over an hour ago."

"Oh," he said.

"Yeah," I sighed. "I think I'm just going to leave."

"Hey," he said. "Is it ok if I come with you? This is my first time in this town, and it would be nice if someone could show me around."

"Just call me a tour guide," I said, getting up.

We walked out the door talking and laughing.

"Where to first?" he asked me. "It's your choice."

"Zonko's is always worth a visit," I told him. "It's a joke shop. It's one of the main carriers of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes products besides the store itself."

"You're just a walking advertisement, aren't you?" he laughed.

"Only sometimes," I said.

We walked into the store and immediately began joking around. He was quite funny when it came to impressions as well.

We walked out of the store with a few items in hand.

"Hey, is that store a candy shop?" he asked, pointing to Honeyduke's.

"What tipped you off," I asked, "the huge cake in the window or the fact that kids are coming out of it with gigantic lollipops?"

"Oh," he said. "You can be quite sarcastic too."

"It runs in the family," I said, like it was supposed to be something to be proud of.

He smiled and we went in.

I stopped short when I saw Scorpius with Albus. He was holding a little heart-shaped box of chocolate cauldrons in his hands.

"You're sure she'll like this?" Scorpius asked.

"'Course she will," Albus said. "Those are Rose's favorite chocolates. Now come on, you've kept her waiting for over an hour."

It was then that I realized that the only thing between them and the door was me and Josh, holding hands.

It seemed Scorpius noticed, too.

"Rose," he said. I immediately dropped Josh's hand.

"Yes?" I asked.

"I'm sorry, is there a problem here?" Josh asked.

"You're with _him_, Rose?" he asked me.

"And what if she is?" Josh retorted, putting his arm around me and pulling me toward him.

I didn't know which was worse; standing that close to an incredibly gorgeous boy who I barely knew or seeing the look on another incredibly gorgeous boy-who-I-thought-loved's face seeing me stand next to said former incredibly gorgeous boy.

I would have to say both.

"Well then," Scorpius said. "Have a nice life, Rose. I can see that you don't want me in it, anyway."

He handed me the box of chocolates and left the store angrily.

Albus just shook his head and went after his friend.


	10. Chapter 10

Fifth Year Ravenclaw Keeper Rose Weasley sat outside by the Black Lake under the same tree she was by nearly every fair weathe

**Disclaimer: I wonder if people think that I actually am JK Rowling. I hope not. Hey, ****unarosaesunarosa, you make a good point, and I promise that they will fall in love but it's not going to be all Disney "happily ever after" for a while, if at all.**

I walked outside, looking at the box. He had wanted to make up, and I had ruined it by stupidly walking in with Josh.

Speaking of whom, he came out right after that. He put his arm around me once more.

"Hey, are you ok?" he asked. "That guy was a total jerk."

"No he wasn't," I said, turning on him. "He was trying to apologize, and I messed up now."

"Wow, you're pretty when you're angry," he said to me. With that, he pressed his lips to mine and attempted to shove his tongue down my throat.

I immediately pulled away. "What the _hell_ do you think that you're doing?" I shouted.

"I think it was pretty obvious," he said. He leaned in again.

I slapped him so hard; his check had the red silhouette of my hand. "Don't you _dare_ try to kiss me, you hear?" I turned around and began to walk away.

_Stupid boys with their stupid attitudes! They're all stupid!_ I fumed as I walked back to the castle.

I wanted to be alone, so I needed to avoid any of my regular places: the lake, the library, the common room or the dorm.

_Where is one place I know I can be alone in?_ I asked myself. The answer came quickly to my head; the Room of Requirement, of course!

I headed to the seventh floor and walked passed that part of the wall three times.

_I need a place to be alone._

_I need a place to be alone._

_I need a place to be alone._

A small door appeared and I walked in. Of course it looked just like my room at home. That's where I always went to avoid my family if they were bothering me.

I sat down on the replica of my bed and looked at the box of chocolates. I opened it up, and inside there was a note.

_Dear Rose,_

_We never really were best friends, thought we always talked to each other. At the dance, I'm not sure, but I guess I kind of knew that it was you all along. I'm sorry that I lashed out at you when you told me that it was you. I guess that _I_ was afraid of the truth, just like you were. I'm sorry that I kissed that girl in the library, and I know that sorry doesn't cut it anymore, so there's really only one reason for this note._

_I Love You,_

_Scorpius M._

There it was, on plain parchment. _He _loved _me!_ I loved him, too.

But I ruined everything because I just had to leave the Three Broomsticks with Mr. Cute Smile. I was such an idiot.

The trouble was that I knew if I had stayed where I was, everything would be out in the open by now. But, now he probably didn't feel that way anymore, or he did and he didn't think that _I _did.

Wow, none of my relationships had ever been like this before. It was quite unsettling.

But what was I supposed to do? Was I to totally ignore my own feelings, go on with my life and pretend that the whole thing with Scorpius never happened? Would I just walk away and never speak to him again? Was I to lock my feelings up in a box in my head and never let the world know what was going on inside me? Should I turn my back on what could be?

My head had a resounding "yes" but my heart screamed about how intolerable that would be.

I couldn't abandon Scorpius. I couldn't abandon my heart.

But I couldn't just throw caution to the wind and let the chips fall where they may. It would be too dangerous, and I didn't want to end up getting hurt.

But there was really no one to ask for advice anymore.

The Headmistress was helpful up to a certain point, but I couldn't just go up there and ask for relationship advice. What I asked before was basically how to save a dying friendship, though I knew that I loved him.

Albus was probably less than happy with me, but he wouldn't tell anyone in the family about that. Even when he's mad at me, he never betrays my trust.

Anyone else in my family would let it get around to my parents, and that would be no good at all.

And then, if I told basically anyone else in the school, it would spread like wildfire, reaching my cousins (or worse, my brother), and then my family would know about it.

I laid down on the bed and thought, which was the only thing I was able to do to keep this from getting to anyone, namely, my parents.

It was weird that I, Rose Nymphadora Weasley, could plan out an entire Defense Against the Dark Arts essay an about any topic in about five minutes, not counting the time it took to actually write, but I couldn't figure out something trivial like a relationship.

I paused to think about that, and I found a reason.

I thought about relationships as trivial because I had never been in a serious one before. There were a few dates here and there, but the only real boyfriend I had ever had was Jacob, which meant that I actually had very little relationship experience.

How would I be able to understand the level of intensity this was?

I was in way over my head.


	11. Chapter 11

Fifth Year Ravenclaw Keeper Rose Weasley sat outside by the Black Lake under the same tree she was by nearly every fair weathe

**Disclaimer: No, I'm not JK Rowling. Sorry for the wait. I had like zero inspiration. Yes, this chapter gets a bit FRIENDS-ish. Sorry, I've been watching it online a lot lately. You get 100 points if you know where it seems like that and what couple it's in reference to.**

I had a good cry in the mock-bedroom that the Room of Requirement had made for me before I was ready to leave.

The room sprung a bathroom where I washed my face off so I looked halfway decent. My eyes, though, still looked red and puffy from crying. This was something that I would have to deal with. Most of the students who knew me knew that I had a few allergies, so I really didn't look like anything out of the ordinary.

I turned a corner and heard two people talking.

"How could I have been so _stupid?_" someone asked. I knew that voice. It was Scorpius. I looked around the corner, only allowing one eye to see what was going on. Al was with him. Scorpius kicked the wall. "She doesn't want _me. _Of course she doesn't. I was a fool to think that she did."

"Pull yourself together, Scorp!" Albus said, shaking his friend's shoulders. "How can you be so sure of what you're saying? How do you know that she doesn't want you? I think that she does?"

"Yeah, easy for you to say," Scorpius scoffed. "You weren't the one who saw _him_ shoving his tongue down her throat."

I let out a silent gasp. He saw that, too.

How desperately I wanted to go up to him. I wanted to explain everything, to tell him that I loved him as well. But, a voice in my head told me to stay where I was. I was not to interfere.

"Do you know if she was kissing him back?" Albus asked calmly.

Scorpius hesitated for a moment. "…No," he said, "but what if she was?"

"She kissed you," Albus said.

So he knew about that. I prayed that he was the only one.

"Yeah, but she didn't know that it was me," he challenged. "And what if she actually likes this Josh guy? Rose said it herself; she's not the kind of girl who can just be messed around with."

"Trust me, I know," Al said. "She's practically my sister, Scorp. I know her best. This is why I know that she doesn't actually like that kid. He probably forced himself on her."

"I'm pretty sure that doesn't work with Rose," Scorpius said. I knew that he was thinking of that day in the library.

"It would if he surprised her," Albus said.

"You might be right," Scorpius agreed, looking down. "Look, I have to go think some things over. I'll see you later."

"Later, then," said Albus. He walked the opposite way Scorpius did. Scorpius' way was right towards me.

I couldn't turn away fast enough.

"Rose?"

Why oh why did my heart do a back flip when I heard him call my name? I turned around.

"You heard?" he asked.

I nodded.

"What did you hear?" he asked. His voice wasn't angry like the last time he spoke to me. It was softer. He seemed somewhat embarrassed.

"Everything," I told him.

"Oh," he looked at the ground.

I turned around and began to walk away from him, the tears already beginning to roll down my cheeks again. He cared about me, for that I was sure, but he didn't want to say anything, for I had already heard. But he didn't know that I cared about him, too. I wanted to turn around and tell him that I loved him as well. Why couldn't I find the courage to do that? This was the exact reason I wasn't a Gryffindor.

"Wait, Rose." I heard sped up footsteps behind me.

"What do you want already?" I turned around. I talked through my tears.

"This," he said. He pulled me in and kissed me. I didn't try to fight him off this time. He knew who I was, and this wasn't an "I'm sorry" kiss. This wasn't awkward like Jacob or disgusting like Josh. This had real feeling. This was a real kiss. This was my first real kiss.

I kissed him back as well. My arms went around his neck as I pulled him in closer.

I wasn't sure how long we were kissing before we both broke for air.

"Well, that was interesting," he said.

I nodded. "Did you, uh, feel anything?" I asked him breathlessly.

"Uh-huh," he affirmed. "You?"

"Uh-huh," I agreed.

"You know what's weird?" he asked me.

"What?"

"That wasn't weird," he said.

"I know," I agreed. "It just feels so…. right."

"Exactly," he said. We fell into a bit of an awkward silence. "We should do this again sometime," he joked. We both laughed.

"Ok," I said, slightly serious this time.

"Really?" he asked me. I nodded. "Ok, sure. So what, are we dating now?"

"I guess we are," I said.

"I kind of like the sound of that," he smiled, putting his arm around my waist.

"Me too," I smiled. "But I think it would be best if no one knew about this yet, you know, except Albus."

"Why just Al?" he asked me.

"He's the only one in my family I can actually trust in my family not to rat me out to Mum and Dad."

"Ah yes," he said. "Our families don't particularly like each other, do they?"

"Well, maybe we'll be the ones to change that," I said.

"I'd like that," he said. He kissed me on the cheek.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he promised.

"Same here," I agreed.

It was all out in the open between us now. There was nowhere to go but up, right?


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, I'd be insanely rich.**

For the next month, Scorpius and I snuck around, making sure that absolutely no one knew about us except for Albus.

At first, he just didn't understand. He had known both sides of the story, and wondered how we didn't just keep messing things up for each other.

"Don't worry," Scorpius laughed. "There are much more mistakes to come. We're just going to make sure we're more careful."

It was now December, and it was also the last day that Scorpius and I would see each other until after the Christmas break. We were saying our goodbyes in an empty compartment on the Hogwarts Express because we couldn't let anyone see us.

"I'm going to miss you so much," I complained between kissed.

"Not as much as I'll miss you," Scorpius challenged.

"I'll write every night, ok?" I asked.

"Sure," he agreed. "And I'll write to you."

"But remember to send them to Al's house, ok?" I asked. "Every year at the holidays, my family always stays at Uncle Harry's place. You know the address, right?"

"Rosie, we went over this about a thousand times," he laughed. "I'll write to the right address, ok?"

"Ok," I said. The train came to a stop. We got out of out train compartment. "I'll see you then."

"See you," he agreed. We only shook hands because surely people were watching now, but I wanted nothing more than to kiss him once more.

I walked off the train to greet my parents who wanted to ask me absolutely _everything_ about how my seventh year was going. I guess it was because they didn't have a normal seventh year, but it got a bit annoying. Still, I told them everything, except about me and Scorpius, of course.

Lily and Albus were riding with us to their home because Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny weren't able to pick them up at the train station. It was like this every year, but the car wasn't as crowded since James graduated.

Hugo dominated the rest of the trip to12 Grimmauld Place with stories of his friends and how he liked this one girl who acted really shy. I basically tuned him out. My thoughts were on Scopius most of the time. It was weird to think of him as my boyfriend, still.

My thoughts were on the train ride and the things we said. Since when did we get that mushy? I guess a lot of lines had been blurred in the past month.

It disoriented me when we arrived at our destination. I took my trunk out of the back of the car and walked up the steps of the house that I could see clearly because I was told of its existence.

Albus and Lily ran past my brother, my parents and I to go greet their parents, but after that, Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny came to us with a flurry of questions as well. I rolled my eyes. This happened every year, and I almost knew the exact time that everyone would show up.

That night was filled with stories from school, work and various other places. The next night would be Christmas Eve, and everyone was going to be decorating and talking even more.

Before I went to bed, I made sure that Lily was asleep, because we had to share a room, I wrote to Scorpius, just like I'd promised.

_Dear Scorpius,_

_I told you I'd write you every night, didn't I? Just in case that you didn't understand, I meant tonight. You'll get my letters the night after I write them. I did the math in my head. Plus, it would be better by night because of family. You understand, of course._

_Everything's fine on my part. All the Weasleys and Potters are here, which means that it will be hard to find a moment's peace, anyway._

_I love you lots,_

_Rose_

I sighed and gave the letter to my owl and sent her out.

That night I dreamed about Scorpius. Well, of course I did that. He occupied nearly every waking thought I had now, so why not my unconscious thoughts, too?

The morning seemed to come quickly, but when I looked at the clock over the door, it read 11:30.

Hey, I was on vacation, I deserved to be sleeping in.

I got up and got dressed into an old flannel shirt and jeans and I went downstairs.

"Look who's alive," my "cousin" Teddy Lupin called sarcastically as he saw me walking down the stairs.

"Shut up," I said, grabbing a roll and putting some butter on it.

"You better eat quickly," he advised. "Molly is putting everyone to jobs."

I nodded. Grandma Molly could be such a control freak sometimes, but we all still loved her. Grandma and Grandpa Granger were more laid back, though they would always follow one of the adults around asking about this spell and that spell. Still, everyone obliged them with good grace because they never used magic. Also, whenever Grandad Arthur could, he would ask about Muggle things, so everyone was basically even.

There was plenty for everyone to work on with Grandma pulling the reigns. It looked like no one was going to get any rest until dinner, and with the current situation, that was probably right.

Fortunately, when you're doing something and talking with your family about fun topics and people are telling stories, time goes by pretty quickly.

You know how, with many families, large holiday dinners are either sat in an awkward silence or loud arguing? Well, ours usually consisted of business, jokes and flying food. It was almost like a game to most of us. Someone would say something about this or that and then segue into a story about how they had to get someone's head out of a toilet or something of the sort. Yep, it was just a normal Potter-Weasley family dinner.

And, of course, after dinner, we would all go into the sitting room. It started off quite normal. People were still telling stories and jokes and sharing news. Grandma put on Celestina Warbek's "A Cauldron Full of Hot, Strong Love", and Auntie Fluer made fun of it as she did every year. They would get into the usual argument of taste in music and then go into clothes and other things that I could really care less about.

Hardly anyone knew what was going to happen next except for two people. I hadn't noticed Uncle Bill's grinning like an idiot to be anything out of the ordinary. I thought that he had just had too much firewhisky.

No one danced at the family Christmas party. Most of us had two left feet. That's why everyone fell silent when Teddy and Victoire began to twirl around the room.

I had never known how graceful they both were until then. I was so caught up in the music and their dancing that it shocked me when Teddy got down on one knee.

There seemed to be millions of gasps in that room. None of us except for two people knew that this was going to happen.

"Victoire," Teddy said. She was already in tears. "We have been pretty serious for a long time now, and I think that it's time to take that next step. Will you marry me?"

The entire room was silent. That was the longest second that anyone could have ever seemed to endure.

With tears streaming from her eyes, she barely choked out one word. "Yes."

Everyone cheered. There was hugging and laughing all around.

"What a coincidence," Hugo said from the back of the room. We all stopped. My brother was looking directly at me.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: This is a disclaimer about something that has to do with me not owning the Harry Potter series and stating that I cannot come up with anything clever to say in the disclaimer at the moment. Wooo 50+ comments! PS, sorry about the shortness.**

"What's a coincidence, Hugo?" mum asked, barely looking at him.

"Well, it's just that Teddy and Victoire jut got engaged, and Albus has his girlfriend," he smirked. "And Rose just got a new boyfriend."

The room froze, and not in the good way that it did before. I glared at Hugo.

"Well Rose?" asked James. He was smiling, of course. He always got a kick out of my own embarrassment."

"It's not true," I said through gritted teeth.

"Oh please," said Hugo. "I saw you two snogging like there was no tomorrow in an empty corridor."

The entire room roared with laughter. I flushed a deep red.

"Who is it?" Teddy asked.

"No one," I answered quickly. I glared once again at my brother. He was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed and his eyes bright with amusement.

"Scorpius Malfoy," he said, saying it slowly as if to savor the moment even more.

Albus looked around nervously.

I ran out of the room. Damn Hugo. He just _had_ to find out and he just _had_ to tell everyone, didn't he? Worse than that, I probably just ruined Teddy and Victoire's night. Was _everyone_ out to get me?

I sat down and began to write my second letter to Scorpius.

_Dear Scorpius,_

_It's been one hell of a night. We had the usual festivities and then the most incredible thing happened._

_Teddy proposed to Victoire!_

_But all is not well. Not for me, it isn't at least._

_Somehow, Hugo found out about us. Now, don't go blaming Albus. I know it wasn't his fault. Apparently, we weren't careful enough, and he caught us in the act. I really could kill him right now._

_I hope everything is better on your end._

_Love,_

_Rose._

There was a knock on the door, and I had a pretty good idea as to who it was.

"Go away, Dad!" I yelled.

"It's Victoire," said the person outside of my door. "Can I come in?"

"Uh, sure," I said.

She opened the door and came in.

"Sorry about ruining your engagement," I apologized.

"You don't need to be," she said. "Honestly, I had been expecting it for some time now. You didn't ruin anything, Rosie."

"Well, my dad is probably furious," I said.

"Aunt Hermione is trying to calm him down," she said, nodding. "Really, it's stupid that animosity should run that deep. But you know, my father wasn't too happy when I started dating Teddy either."

I looked up, incredulous. "Really?" I asked. "But Teddy's basically been part of the family since the defeat of Voldemort. That makes no sense."

"Well," she started. "It doesn't, really. My father thought that Teddy was a bit too much like him, and he didn't like the way he was as a teenager. Really, I just think it's a letting go thing. No father is really going to think that any boy is good enough for their daughter, but they just have to realize that they can't protect us forever. You know that Scorpius isn't like his father, and I think your dad knows that, too. He just doesn't want to believe that you're in a relationship yet."

"But he was fine with Jacob," I protested.

"I think that he knew that it wasn't going to be long," she answered me. "By the way that Hugo described you're relationship with Scorpius, he's understanding that it's a bit more serious, and to him, you're still that shy eleven year old just getting on the train for the first time."

"I guess," I shrugged. "But my dad tends to overreact about things. I mean, I knew that he was going to disapprove from the start. That's why no one knew but Albus."

"According to your Aunt Ginny, he's always been a bit overprotective. Don't take this so personally, he'll get over it," she consoled me. "It might just take a little longer because of who it is, that's all."

I shook my head. "Stupid school prejudices. You know, I always hated _Romeo and Juliet_. It wasn't a very good story."

"Well, you are not exactly Juliet," Victiore said. "And he isn't exactly Romeo."

"Thank Merlin for that," I said. "Or else we might both end up dead."

"Oh, I highly doubt that," she said.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: Uh, I don't own anything, got it? Also, I'm sorry about the not updating thing. My sister had friends over a bunch of time this week which meant that I did not have access to a regular computer that had this document on it. Go figure.**

The rest of the week flew by, and I was having a lot of fun, but there was one thing nagging at the back of my mind. Why hadn't he written back yet? He promised he would. It made absolutely no sense. I wrote to him nearly every day. I should have gotten at least _one_ response by now.

I waited. Every night I looked out the window. The only owl that had come back was my own, when she came back from delivering my messages. There was no reply at all.

At first, I thought that Lily had been hiding them from me, because she didn't really approve of me being with Scorpius, though she thought that he was insanely hot, but she swore that she didn't take them, and she was the only one in the house who was able to get to them as we locked the room before we left, and no one went up there during the day.

I didn't sleep well that last night. I was worrying about him. What if his family invited some distant friends and they had a pretty daughter and they hit it off or something? I nearly started crying with that theory.

I was extremely tire when my brother, my cousins and I had to leave for the train, but I figured I would sleep on there.

Lily, Albus and Hugo were all sitting with their respective friends (or a girlfriend in Al's case), so I was left all alone.

I settled for an empty compartment and leaned my head against the window.

It seemed that I had drifted into an unthinking stupor for a few minutes before I heard the door slide open. My face instantly brightened when I saw who it was.

"Hey Scorpius," I smiled.

But there was something wrong. His face was had, emotionless. It reminded me of the last glimpse of his face that I caught when he left me crying that day in Hogsmeade.

The thought of it frightened me.

"Oh, hello," he said. It was awfully formal. "I was just looking for Albus. Do you know where he is?"

"He's sitting with Lindsay," I informed him.

"Oh, ok," he said.

"You can sit here, if you want," I offered.

"No, I told Jonathan that I would catch up with him today," he said.

"Oh, alright then," I said, though he had closed the door and walked away before I could finish the sentence.

Why should I feel hurt by that? Of course he would want to see his friends. I had kind of been monopolizing him, and his friends didn't know that we were together. He knew that everything was out the window with my family, and I had sent him a letter saying that there was probably no reason for us to keep it a secret anymore. He was probably just going to explain it. There was no reason to be worried at all.

But all the same, I was. This wasn't his normal behavior. What happened?

I thought back from the time we left each other to the time that I got back on the train.

We kissed and promised to write everyday. I kept my promise and wrote him the next night. The night after that, Hugo told my entire family about Scorpius and I, and I told him about it that night in another letter. I wrote him every night, and he never wrote back once.

And then something dawned on me.

What if his parents had found the letters? What would they thing? It was nothing good, probably. But what could they possibly say that would affect Scorpius in such a way?

I would confront him about it at the first possible chance that I could get. He couldn't ignore me forever.

I occupied my mind with other things for the moment.

There was a little less than half a school year left at Hogwarts for me. That was pretty significant.

I had always been sort of stubborn on the fact that I wanted to go into work as a healer in St. Mungo's. My father had wanted to be an auror, but I was only ok at Defense Against the Dark Arts. My mother said that I should be a teacher, but as much as I loved the school, I would probably feel trapped there after a while.

After I put my luggage up in the common room, I sat down and thought for a moment. Mostly, it was about how I would approach Scorpius. It wouldn't be easy, I knew.

A fit of déjà vu overtook me as I remembered that this was exactly how I felt that morning before Hogsmeade when I resolved myself to tell him.

_Holy crap,_ I thought. _What am I going to do? My boyfriend is acting weird, and I am just here sitting in my bed. I should go down to dinner right now and go talk to him._

And that's exactly what I resolved to do.

But when I got there, there was a nasty surprise waiting for me.

He wasn't there.

Al came up to me with a note in his hands. "Scorpius told me to give this to you," he said, giving me an apologetic look.

Tentatively, I opened it.

_Dearest Rose,_

_I'm sorry that I couldn't write to you over the break. I was going to, I swear, but my parents had somehow found out about us. I don't know who told them, but they were furious with me when I got home._

_They told me that there were some… arrangements to make, and that's when they informed me of their knowledge._

_They were completely disappointed in me, and they said that there was only one thing to do now._

_As you're reading this, please know that I am not doing this of my own accord. My parents are sending me to Durmstang. I'll have another year there after this one there, so I won't be able to visit._

_You have no idea how completely sorry I am that I didn't tell you before. I just couldn't_

_I almost did on the train ride today, but I didn't want to see the look on your face. It would just be too much for me to bear._

_I am so sorry, Rose._

_Forever yours,_

_Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy_

Crying, I closed the note and ran back to Ravenclaw tower, clutching it to my chest.


	15. Three Years Later

**Disclaimer: I'm just putting this dis****claimer up here because I feel like it. I know my readers aren't stupid enough to think that my name is Joanne Kathleen Rowling. Yes, this is my only titled chapter so I could acknowledge the time skip.**

_It moved so fast that I could barely see it moving, and suddenly seventh year was over._

_My parents were worried about how I was when I got home after the year ended. I was malnourished and sleep-deprived. It took me two months to even revert back to normal, but everywhere I looked was still his face haunting me, taunting me._

_______________________________________________________________________

I awoke with a start. I'd had my flashback dream again. I looked at the calendar date. It was January fifth, exactly three years before was the last time I had seen Scorpius Malfoy, my first love, in person.

The memory of that train ride was not a good one. I had barely seen him for one minute, and he was so quiet, so reserved.

At first, we had kept our relationship going via owl, but you know what they say about long distance relationships. After that, we still wrote to each other, and then two years ago, I had sent him a letter and I never got a response. I hadn't heard anything from him.

I shook the memory from my head. I had to be alert that day. It was the final test that we, the St. Mungo's interns were getting before we were allowed to become full-fledged healers.

Besides, I had moved on. I had a new boyfriend, and we were pretty serious about each other. His name was Dylan; he was from Australia but came to England to join the Puddlemere United Quidditch team. And he was quite the stud, if I do say so myself. And, to tell the truth, we were in love, but it wasn't the complete, all-encompassing think that I had once felt. I had told myself to never try and find that again, I would only get hurt more when it would have to end. Still, this was enough.

I walked into my flat's kitchen to grab some breakfast before heading off to the hospital.

My roommate, Eleanor Dennison, an advice columnist for the "Daily Prophet", was already there. She was lucky. _She_ was having a day off while I still had to drag my butt into London.

"Mornin' Elly," I greeted her as cheerfully as I could muster up. She knew that I had a hard time on January fifth.

"Good morning," she greeted back. "Hey, you're ok, right?"

She didn't take long to get down to brass tax, that girl. No wonder she made the "Ask Elly" column.

"I'm fine," I promised her. "I have to be for the exam today. And it was three years ago, anyway. I think… well, I think I'm finally over it, you know?"

"Yeah, I think I _do_ understand moving on after tough relationships more than others do, seeing as I get about fifteen owls a day just talking about that subject," she joked. "But you can talk to me about anything, you know that, right?"

I smiled at her. "Yeah," I said. "You're a great friend. But now I have to get to work. Dylan's going to take me out after the exams are done, so I need to finish as quickly as possible while being as thorough as possible so I can get ready for the date tonight. He said that he's taking me somewhere fancy!"

"Well, he _does_ have the budget for it," she smirked. "I still can't understand how you can land the star seeker on a great Quidditch team and I can't even hold a relationship with the new political analyst."

"It's a gift, what can I say?" I joked. "See you later. Wish me luck!"

"Good luck!" she called as I walked out the door.

I got to the hospital, as usual, about ten minutes before I needed to be, which gave me just enough time to cram some extra studying in, not that I hadn't done about three hours the night before. All I knew about the test is that we were all going to be assigned a patient who would have the symptoms of a certain disease. We had to diagnose them and treat them correctly to pass. It seemed simple enough on paper, but when there were ten diseases that had similar symptoms, it would be hard to remember.

All of the interns had to sit in a waiting room outside the test. We had to sign a paper that bound us to not tell anyone else the answer. There was an enchantment upon the paper that made us incapable to speak of it until everyone was done with it.

"Rose Weasley!" the head healer called me in.

_Ok, Rose. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. You can do this,_ I thought to myself while entering the room.

I immediately saw the patient in question on the table. He was covered in purple blemishes.

I narrowed down the choices down to two immediately.

_Dragon pox or Spattergroit? Dragon pox or Spattergroit?_ I thought frantically. I would have known it right away if I wasn't so nervous.

Finally, I calmed my nerves down. "You have Spattergroit," I informed him and I told him the potion that would cure him right up.

"Good job," said the head Healer. "Good job, Healer Weasley!"

I beamed. It was nice to be referred to as "Healer Weasley".

I came out of the room completely and utterly excited. Not only was I a full-fledged healer, but that meant that I had a day off the next day, and the bags under my eyes told me that I needed to sleep in really badly.

When I got home, I immediately screamed, not caring if Elly was taking a nap or if the people in the flat below could hear.

"I'M A HEALER!" I screamed.

"Great job, Rosie!" Elly yelled from the kitchen.

"Weren't you just here when I left two hours ago?" I asked her, laughing, as I sat down at the kitchen table.

"I can be as slow as I want today," she defended. "It's my day off, so I can take as long as I want."

I smiled. "Well, I have the rest of the day off, and I was planning on getting a new dress for my date with Dylan tonight, since I have absolutely _nothing_ to wear at the moment. Plus, I just got my first paycheck today since I passed the exam. Would you like to come with me?"

"Sure," she said. "I need to see the town again. I haven't been out in so long." I giggled a bit about that. "Well, we can't _all_ be dating famous Quidditch players, now can we?"

"Sorry," I said. "Let's go at around noon. We'll get some lunch and then do some serious shopping. I'll probably need to get a new pair of shoes with the dress and possibly some new make up."

"Ooh, girls' day out! Yay!" she gushed. "Maybe I'll get some stuff for myself as well."

"We both know that you will," I laughed.

At noon, we both set out to go into Diagon Alley for some shopping. I got a sparkly blue dress that was uneven at the bottom. On the right side, it cut off a little bit below my knee, and on the right side it went down to mid calf, though a point of it went to my ankle. I got a pair of blue strappy shoes. What can I say? My favorite color was blue, but I didn't go all out like I did that one time at the Halloween dance.

I barely allowed myself to think of that anymore.

When we got back home, it was three in the afternoon, and Dylan was going to come get me at six which gave me three hours.

Of course, Eleanor _insisted_ on doing my hair for me. All of my curly red hair was being straightened and pulled at. She brushed and brushed and brushed until it was impeccable. Of course, she didn't stop there. She also made me sit down as she acted as my beautician. This made me a bit suspicious.

"Elly, do you know something I don't?" I asked. "You nearly _never_ help me this much in getting ready for my dates."

"Oh, I know," she said. "Just, I felt like doing it, is that so wrong?"

"No," I said. "I still think something is going on, though."

She sighed. "Oh, just get your dress on," she said. I looked at my watch. It was already 5:50. Getting my dress on was about the only thing I had time for.

At exactly six o' clock at night, the doorbell rang.

I opened the door, and there was Dylan with a bouquet of roses in his hand. "Roses for my Rose," he said, smiling. He grabbed me by the waist and kissed me sweetly on the lips.

I blushed. "That's so sweet," I said. I handed them to Elly, who I thought I saw giving him the thumbs up out of the corner of my eye. "Where are we going?"

"Have you ever heard of a restaurant called 'The Golden Cauldron'?" he asked, smirking.

"You didn't!" I nearly shrieked.

"I did," he said, apparently liking my reaction.

"The Golden Cauldron" was one of the most exclusive restaurants in all of England. It was nearly impossible to get into if you didn't have a reservation months in advance.

"Shall we go?" he asked me, offering his arm.

"We shall," I said, linking arms with him.

He quickly disapperated, and we were in the front of the restaurant before you could have time to blink.

Dylan walked up to the maître d'. "We have a reservation under Dylan Saunders," he said.

The man looked up. "Ah, right this way monsieur, madamoiselle," he said in a thick French accent that sounded like the more masculine version of my aunt Fleur.

We follwed him to a small table for two near a stage where four men were playing soft music.

"This place is incredible!" I exclaimed quietly.

"Yeah, you are," Dylan said.

I looked down, blushing.

The dinner was, as expected, amazing. Dylan had ordered us a bottle of champagne.

By the end of the meal, I saw Dylan serruptitiously wink at the man singing on the stage. He got up, grabbed my hand and pulled me up to it.

"Dylan, what's the meaning of this?" I asked, blushing scarlet. Everyone was looking at us now.

"Rose," he said. "We've been going out for a long time now."

My pulse began beating faster, and I knew what was happening.

"Rose, would you do me the honor of agreeing to marry me?" His face was hopeful and happy.

At once, my mind flashed to Scorpius. But I pushed it away. He was my past. I could see myself having a future with Dylan.

"Yes," I said, smiling brightly and starting to cry.


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I just like writing. It's not like I own any of this. Sorry, it's getting a bit harder to post. It'll be easier after the play is over. Yay, 70+ reviews. Can we take that up to 100 soon?**

I got home, completely elated. I could barely stop staring at the ring on my finger. It must have cost a lot.

Elly was there, beaming at me as I walked through the door.

"You knew," I accused. "You knew and you didn't even give me a hint!"

"Of course I didn't, you silly, silly girl," she laughed. "One, he asked me not to, and two, where would the fun in that be? It would ruin the surprised. No one deserves to have _this_ ruined for them."

I threw my arms around my best friend. "I'm engaged!" I squealed. "Oh, wow, I need to tell everyone. Where's the floo powder? I need to call _everyone_!"

And that's what I did. I called my aunts and uncles and nearly all of my cousins. My parents were ecstatic, and Hugo was happy, though he told me that he would have to ward Dylan not to try and hurt me or else. I laughed at that. Only Albus seemed a bit uneasy about this. He knew that I would never give my whole heart to anyone ever again, so I just chalked it up to that instead of something that I didn't consider… something that I couldn't foresee.

I went to bed quite late that night, though it didn't matter, because I had the next day off, and the excitement of the day was too much to bear.

I had an uneasy dream that night.

_I was somehow seventeen again, and I was facing the only boy I had ever truly loved. It was Scorpius. But I knew that this wasn't a memory, for I knew I was dreaming and I knew I was engaged._

_That would explain why he was looking at me, his face angry._

_"How could you, Rose?" he shouted._

_"What, me?" I shouted back._

"Yes, you," he spat. "How could you agree to marry him? You love me,_ remember?"_

"No, I don't," I said. "Not anymore."

I woke up; my pillow was stained with tears. It was strange that I could remember my dream in full.

It was a strange thing for me to dream about his reactions to things. It had been some time since I had even cared about such things, but it was probably natural. I had only been in love with one boy before Dylan, so it was probably ok to think about that right after I got engaged, seeing as it took me a while to get over it.

It was like that tradition that men had that when they got engaged they would give their little black book to one of their single friends.

I smirked at that. Maybe I would give Elly Jacob Thomas' address, since she was always complaining about being single.

I sighed. I would have to get out of bed at some time, but I was all set to just laze around the flat all day in my pajamas.

Elly had already left for work, and I went into the kitchen to make myself some breakfast.

I decided to treat myself with some blueberry pancakes. I had learn to do them the muggle way. They took longer, but it came with more satisfaction to know that I could do something without having to rely on magic.

I also had all the time in the world that day, so it didn't matter how long it took.

When I had finished with that, I opened the "Daily Prophet" to see what was going on in the world that I had missed.

I smiled when I got to the Quidditch section. My aunt Ginny wrote for that, and, of course, she had to add in a little note that Dylan had proposed to me.

I chuckled when I thought of all the groans that Dylan's devoted female fans would have when they read that. Sure, it was sometimes a hassle being the fiancée of a celebrity, but Aunt Ginny could deal with it- though Uncle Harry was a different type of celebrity- and I was sure I could, too.

I had eaten my breakfast and read the newspaper slowly that I saw that it was already noon, not that it mattered, because I didn't have any work to do.

That's why I was a little shock when there was a knock at the door. I wasn't expecting any visitors, and Elly was going to be gone until late that night.

I went to the door, still in my pajamas, to see who it was.

I opened the door to see a tall man, his face obscured by the small bouquet of flowers he was holding.

"Dylan," I teased, "didn't you give me enough flowers _last_ night.

The man lowered the bouquet. It wasn't Dylan. I would recognize the platinum blond hair and clear blue eyes anywhere. Though he was taller, he was still the same. My breath caught in my throat.

"Sc-_Scorpius_?" I barely managed to get out.

"Rose," he said, smiling. His voice was full of relief and had just a hint of something I could barely recognize; love.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" I asked.

"Rose, I'm sorry I haven't written. It was just too hard. I missed you too much," he said. "I should have come to see you much sooner. I should have seen you the very second I was able, but I didn't, and I'm sorry. I came here today to ask you if you would be willing to give us another shot."

"Scorpius, I-"

"Just think it over a bit," he said. "We could start up right where we left off."

"That's impossible," I said, my eyes resting on my left hand, though I hadn't put my ring on again since I had woken up that morning.

"Why not?" he asked, his face was questioning.

"Come in and sit down," I bade him. He followed me into the kitchen. "Well, I don't suppose you read the 'Daily Prophet' today?" I offered him a chair.

"I just skimmed the front page, really," he said. "Why?"

I flipped the newspaper open to the Quidditch section and pointed to the last sentence.

His eyes read it fast, but he took it in slowly.

"Rose? You're engaged?" he asked. I nodded. "To _Dylan Saunders_?" he verified. I nodded. "When did this happen?"

"We've been going out for a while," I explained. "We met in a little coffee shop that I used to work in since I wasn't a paid healer at St. Mungo's at that point. I just became one yesterday. Anyway, he came in one day, and we just started off talking. He asked me out, and we started dating. We got pretty serious, and he proposed to me last night at the Golden Cauldron. It was pretty romantic."

He didn't say a word.

"I'm sorry," I said to him. Now _I_ was the one apologizing. "If we'd stayed in touch, I would have been able to tell you, but you stopped writing two years ago. Another half a year later, you probably graduated, but you never tried to look me up. I couldn't spend my life waiting for you. I had a plan while we were keeping in touch that you would come home and we would pick up where we left off, like you said, but you stopped writing and you never came to visit. I had no choice _but_ to move on."

"Yeah, that was probably a pretty good move on your part," he said. "I shouldn't have kept you waiting like that. I should have written back, and I guess I'll just have to deal with the consequences of that."

He got up to leave.

"I'll see you around?" I asked. I still wanted a friendship with him.

"Yeah, I guess," he grunted. He then left the flat, slamming the door behind him.

That was without a doubt the hardest thing that I had ever had to do.


	17. Finale

**Disclaimer: I'm **_**so**_** not as awesome as JK Rowling. The play is over and I'm free to write. Did anyone here see Twilight? I loved it. Who thought that it was a bit ironic that the Half-Blood Prince trailer was in it?**

I woke up the next morning hoping that the day before had all been a dream. Scorpius had _not_ come to see me. It was just too ironic that he just showed up on my doorstep hoping that I would take him back the day after I got engaged. It seemed completely and utterly improbable.

Unfortunately for me, when my head was clear of the last bits of sleep, I knew that it was obviously _not _a dream and I was probably in some hot water with Albus.

I realized that Scorpius was the reason that my cousin and best friend had been less than thrilled with the fact that I was engaged to an international Quidditch player (though my dad pretended that he was a little angry about it when we started dating. It was something about Mum once dating Viktor Krum. Whatever).

Still, I couldn't let that ruin my day.

It was my first day on the job as a real healer at St. Mungo's, and everyone there was congratulating me. No one could do better than Dylan Saunders, or so they said.

It was funny. Everyone talks about the post-engagement buzz, but I just wasn't feeling it. Something felt… wrong. Strange.

But I realized what it had to be.

It was Scorpius of course.

I was in shock that he had suddenly reappeared in my life. Why couldn't he have stayed far away?

I had to push him to the back of my mind. He didn't mean anything to me anymore. Or, he wasn't supposed to, at least.

UGH! Why did this have to happen to me?

I met up with Dylan after work.

"Hey," he smiled at me.

_I love Dylan now_, I told myself as I looked upon his gorgeous face.

But for some reason, I couldn't help noticing that he had the same ice-blue eyes as Scorpius did.

_No, Rose! Stop thinking about things like that. You're _engaged _for Merlin's sake!_ I forced the observation back.

"So, I think that we should start planning," he said.

"Oh, the wedding, right," I said in a daze.

By the end of the night, we had discussed venues and dates and honeymoon spots. Of course, _no_ place would keep out Dylan Saunders and his future wife.

When I went home, Eleanor had told me that my cousin had used the floo and wanted to talk to me. She informed him that I was out, and I would talk to him later.

"He sounded pretty urgent," she said.

I rushed to the fireplace.

"Hey, Al, what's up?" I asked when I saw his face.

"What did you say to Scorpius?" He asked bluntly.

"What?"

"Yeah, he looked pretty beat up yesterday and he told me he'd gone to talk to you," he sounded pretty angry about this.

"It's his own fault that he didn't look at the _Prophet_ that morning," I said curtly.

"He still loves you, you know," he informed me.

"We'll, _I _wasn't the one who never returned his owls." I was pretty pissed off at this point.

"Just, he asked me to tell you to think these things over," He said, "and that he's living in a flat above the Leaky Cauldron if you ever want to speak to him again."

"Fine, whatever," I said. "I need to get some sleep. Goodnight, Al."

"Goodnight, Rose," he said, and then the fire was extinguished.

"So he came back, huh?" Eleanor asked. I jumped. I didn't know that she was standing right behind me.

"You shouldn't eavesdrop," I muttered darkly.

"I run the _Ask Ellie_ column," she said. "It's my job to listen to people's problems.

"Well, he came back a little too late," I mumbled. "It didn't do him any good. I'm getting married this August and there's nothing he can do about it."

"You decided on a date?" Ellie practically squealed.

"Yep, and we're looking at some really fancy places," I tried to share in her excitement, but it was a half-hearted effort.

"Well, we should probably get to bed, it's late," she said.

I nodded and went to my bedroom.

_**Five Months Later**_

It was a month until my wedding and everyone was in a rush to get the last minute things done. The venue, caterer and band were all booked. I had a dress ready and the flowers were to be delivered the day before the wedding so that they were fresh.

And yet, though everything was literally taken care of for me and I was being waited on hand and foot, everything felt… wrong. Something was missing, and I couldn't then tell exactly what it was. If only I hadn't been so naïve before.

I thought maybe it was because it seemed like everything was going so fast, and I convinced myself that it _must_ be the reason and that I shouldn't fret. I was going to get married to a man that anyone would have dreamed of marrying.

So, I convinced myself that this was really what I wanted, though I wasn't really sure myself.

_**One Month Later**_

I woke up that morning and I felt… empty. I had heard about girls jumping out of their beds in excitement. I had witnessed it myself, but I didn't feel it.

I just convinced myself that it was nerves. It was my _wedding day_ for goodness sakes. I thought that I would just have to wake up a little more and then the excitement would come.

But even as I was getting dressed, it didn't.

Sure, I put on a smile for my friends and family who were showering me with congratulations while they did my makeup and hair, but I felt that something was missing once again. What was wrong with me? I was finally getting married to the man I loved.

Or was I?

The thought struck me like I was getting hit over the head with a beater's club as I was right outside the doors that were going to open in five minutes. My father was on my arm, he was smiling brightly as he looked at me in my beautiful white gown.

I realized that I didn't want to marry Dylan at all.

"Dad, will you excuse me? I need to go check my hair," I said.

"Hurry back," he said. "We have to go in soon.

I turned the corner that not only led to the washrooms, but the front entrance, too.

As soon as I was out the door, I apparated straight to London; to the Leaky Cauldron.

I was greeted with shocked faces as Tom directed me to the room I wanted to go to.

I knocked on the door and waited for him to open it.

"_Rose_?" Scorpius' voice was a shocked as mine had been six months before.

"I didn't marry him," I said. "But it wasn't because I missed you. He wanted to retire Quidditch and go live in Australia. I always thought it was too hot. I liked England, and I want to stay here, but it's not because of you-"

I was cut off by him grabbing and kissing me.

"Rose," he said; his voice full of love. "I promise that I will love you everyday, and when I can gain your trust back, we will get married, ok? You deserve your happily ever after, Rose."

I smiled through my tears and only nodded.

It was that day that I had an epiphany.

I don't know if there is such a thing as destiny or if our life can only go the way it does when we make certain decisions, but I realized on that day that no matter how far I made myself from him, all the roads led to Scorpius, and no one can change that.

In time, my family came to forgive me, though Dylan never spoke to me again. Everything could matter less, as long as I had _him_ by my side. He was my soul mate. He was my true other half.

He gave me my happily ever after.

**The end**


End file.
